India - My Life within and without

Today is Thanksgiving day in USA, Thanksgiving day is also known as day of Turkey, a long Weekend and a weekend for Family meet in US & today...November 22, 2007, Snehal is sleeping after his car race experience and am on net, once again.

Actually I don't have much idea about exact history of Thanksgiving, but as much as I could understood, its a day when people pay their thanks to Pilgrims and to their families. And to enjoy this day most of Americans spend this time with their family and enjoy long weekend with them, they all cook food together, eat together and relax together. Its also known as paying Thanks to Pilgrims of Native Americans aka Native Indians. According to wikipedia Thanksgiving is: "Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks for the things that one has at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada."

As much as I have known Americans, most of them are from all over the world. Around 200 years ago these people have chased Natives out of US and took everything of Real Americans and made US a new world of its own...its just funny for me cos both of these histories doesn't gel very well, at least for me.

Anyways as during the Thanksgiving, people visit their families & relatives and spend these 4 days with them, traveling becomes a big time business. People spend money on Travel and food, giving gifts are not very common during this time. Food which mostly include Turkey, mash potatoes with gravy, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, yams and rolls, get cooked & shared with family and friends. Actually this is a fun time cos you get to spend time with your relatives, you relax after hectic days of work and you cook and eat homemade tasty food...traditionally most people eat Turkey on this specific day...I observe a fast on every Thursday so I will not be able to eat anything but Snehal want to eat Turkey so most probably we will go to some restaurant where he can have turkey...Snehal being the American, feels exited about this Holiday & I being new to this country feels a bit strange but still exited about it. This is my second Thanks giving in US...last year we visited family friends but this year its just we two...and we are our family...yehhhhhhhh..........:)))

When you see all the world around you visiting their families, you tend to miss your parents and family. I am missing my family from Chandigarh today....its been so long that's I get to celebrated any festival or any function with them. Its nice that Americans have this holiday when you are kind of forced to meet your family, but we Indians being who are Family oriented, don't have such holiday. Actually most of Indian families live together as joint family, so they don't need any holiday of such kind. But I guess we will have to make one new holiday now for my kind of people who live apart from family on their own and alone...we also need time and break to see our parents. Well, I miss my parents today...very much, wish I could see them soon.